White Noise: News On Suffocation, Xasthur, Alice In Chains, and Absu

Man, did this past weekend fly by. But don't they always seem to fly by? We're reaching the end of April, which means we're getting closer and closer to summer festival season. We're also right around the corner from a flurry of new releases, and today, we'll be bringing you the latest on what's coming soon to a record store near you. It's your Monday morning metal fix.

+ New York's Suffocation have been working on their forthcoming album, Blood Oath, since last summer, and late last week, the death metal outfit unveiled the LP's disturbing cover art. You can check it out right here. The album will land in stores on July 14, In addition to the standard edition of the disc, the band will be releasing a limited edition version of the set, featuring instrumental and unmastered material.

+ According to Blabbermouth, the Project Hate, which features ex-Entombed frontman Jörgen Sandström along with a host of other Swedish metal all-stars, have named their forthcoming The Lustrate Process. The album drops July 6, and will feature seven tracks, including "Descend Into The Pits Of Eternal Possession," "See The Filth Become Flames In This Furnace," and "Arise To His World Of Infamy."

+ Have the reunited Alice in Chains inked a deal with Virgin/EMI? According to Steve Appleford of the Los Angeles Times, you betcha. The report claims the LP is being eyed for a mid-September release, and that the band will distinguish itself as "a new act," says the band's manager David Benveniste. "It's a double-headed monster."

+ Festival alert: Absu, Cursed From Birth, Carbomb, Machina Infernus, Jungle Rot, and Total F*cking Destruction have been added to the bill for this year's Hostile City Death Fest, which is scheduled for July 4 and 5 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Others booked for the lineup include Deicide, Rumplestiltskin Grinder, Monstrosity, and Vital Remains. You can find the full lineup here.

+ Lambgoat reports that Ambient black metallers Xasthur will return on May 26 with 'All Reflections Drained,' which will boast eight new tracks, including "Dirge Forsaken," "Masquerade of Incisions," and "Obfuscated in Oblivion.

+ Through The Eyes Of The Dead will hit the studio in June to start recording its next opus. "Everything is coming along better than expected, especially since all the members are now scattered all over the East Coast," the band says in a post to its site. "We can't go into specifics yet, but rest assured the new record is going to be brutal, pissed off, fast, and evil. We're incorporating all elements of our past and present sound into this one plus a few surprises as well and we feel that fans old and new will be stoked."

+ As I Lay Dying leader Tim Lambesis loves Arnold Schwarzenegger, so much so that he's even started a side project that pays homage to the California politician and action film star, called Austrian Death Machine. Now, here's your chance to be on the band's next LP. "I was just searching the web for all things Arnold like I often do, and I came up with an idea," Lambesis says in an online post. "I'd love to see some people submit their impersonations with links to videos or audio recording. Whoever has the best impersonation can do a track with me on the new Austrian Death Machine record I'm working on right now."